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VAIL, N. ROBERT (/7.1 852-1 867). Businessman. Born New Jersey, U.S.A. Married Anna Walker. Vail came to St. John's in the early 1850s, opening a bakery on Water Street. Finding a poor market for soft "baker's" bread, he began to experiment with the making of ships' biscuit (or hard bread), which at the time was largely supplied through Hamburg, Germany. By 1857 he had learned the "secret" of making Ham¬ burg bread and erected a mill and "Steam Bakery" in the west end. Within five years his cheaper product had captured 70-90% of the considerable Newfoundland market for this commodity. In 1863 he sold his recipe, bakery and mill to a syndicate formed by St. John's merchants John Bowring, Edwin Duder, Stephen Rendell and Robert Thorburn qqv. In 1867 Vail retired to New York, a wealthy man. Vail's Joint Stock Co. operated the business until 1873, when it was pur¬ chased by Gilbert Browning qv. The business confin¬ ued to be known as Vail's Mill unfil it was burnt in 1879. In 1989 a millstone from Vail's was unearthed, near the former site ofthe Mill Bridge over the Water¬ ford River, and it has since been displayed on the Rennie's River walking trail in St. John's, marking the site of Rennie's Mill. See BREAD AND BREAD MANUFACTURE. P.K. Devine (1936), John L. Joy (1977). rhc
VALDMANIS, ALFRED ARTHUR ALEXANDER
(1908-1970). Politician. Civil servant. Born Ziemupe, son of Ansis and Lavize (Saldnieks) Valdmanis. Edu¬ cated Liepaja; University of Latvia. Married Anna Irma Elvira Slessers. A citizen of Russia, Latvia and Canada, Valdmanis also held a German passport. For two decades he not only survived a sequence of fas¬ cist, communist, German-occupafion, Allied military government and western democratic regimes, but also became a key player in each of them. His name is closely connected with some ofthe most controversial issues in Latvia's economic and political fortunes be¬ tween 1934 and 1945, in post-Worid War II Balfic refugee politics and migrations to Canada, and in the unsuccessful drive for industrialization in Newfound¬ land from 1950 to 1954.
Alfred Valdmanis
VALDMANIS, ALFRED ARTHUR ALEXANDER 471
In 1932 Valdmanis graduated in law from the Uni¬ versity of Latvia. Joining the Ministry of Finance, he rose rapidly to become Minister. As Minister (June 1938 to October 1939) Valdmanis followed the fascist government agenda of increased state intervention in the operation of private firms, restricfions ofthe rights of Latvia's ethnic minorities and of foreign owner¬ ship, establishment of state-owned "national" enter¬ prises, mandatory cartelization and centralized supervision of trades and crafts.
Following the Soviet-German occupation of Poland and a Soviet ultimatum of September 1939 demanding a pact of Latvian-Soviet cooperation, Valdmanis re¬ signed from the cabinet. However, in his capacity as Director General ofthe Latvian Electric Trust Corpo¬ ration Kegums (1940) he confinued to parficipate in policy-making unfil the Soviet takeover of Latvia in 1940. Under Latvia's Soviet regime (1940-41) he be¬ came Chief of the Planning Secfion of the Silk and Knitting Trust. In German-occupied Latvia, Valdmanis emerged as a contender for leadership be¬ cause he advocated coUaborafion as the best defense of Latvia's interests. Not surprisingly, he acquired reputations as both a traitor and ardent patriot. He assumed the positions of acting chief public prosecu¬ tor (Sept. 1941 to Nov. 1941) and director general of justice (Nov. 1941 to Apr. 1943). But in April 1943, the Germans had him removed from Latvia. He had refused to sanction the recruitment of Latvian Waffen- SS legions without a German promise of Latvian au¬ tonomy. He was first sent to Berlin and then to western Germany where he remained unfil the end of the War.
In exile his efforts were directed at ensuring the survival of 25,000 Latvians (former Waffen-SS le¬ gionnaires) in West German and Belgian camps by preventing their repatriation to the Soviet Union and arranging for their overseas resettlement. To this end he worked as a refugee consultant with Brifish and American Headquarters (1945-47) and as a senior staff officer with the U.N. refugee organizations UNRRA and IRO. He emigrated to Canada in 1948. WhUe a visiting professor of economics at McGill and Carleton universities, he advised the government on displaced persons, immigration and economic devel¬ opment. He was asked to prepare a plan for the estab¬ lishment of gypsum and cement industries in Nova Scofia. The day his proposal fell through CD. Howe qv recommended him to the Government of New¬ foundland as director of industrial development.
Valdmanis was appointed Director General of Eco¬ nomic Development (1950-53) and chairman of the Newfoundland and Labrador Corporafion (1951-54). Pressured by Premier Smallwood, he rushed negotia¬ tions to launch some 40 industries with the help of Latvian friends, German business connecfions and Newfoundland government funds. By 1954, 16 Euro¬ pean industries had been established. But as early as 1952 Valdmanis realized that the industrializafion drive was headed for failure.
In 1954 his career came to a sensafional end with his arrest, trial and conviction on charges of fraud and

VAIL, N. ROBERT (/7.1 852-1 867). Businessman. Born New Jersey, U.S.A. Married Anna Walker. Vail came to St. John's in the early 1850s, opening a bakery on Water Street. Finding a poor market for soft "baker's" bread, he began to experiment with the making of ships' biscuit (or hard bread), which at the time was largely supplied through Hamburg, Germany. By 1857 he had learned the "secret" of making Ham¬ burg bread and erected a mill and "Steam Bakery" in the west end. Within five years his cheaper product had captured 70-90% of the considerable Newfoundland market for this commodity. In 1863 he sold his recipe, bakery and mill to a syndicate formed by St. John's merchants John Bowring, Edwin Duder, Stephen Rendell and Robert Thorburn qqv. In 1867 Vail retired to New York, a wealthy man. Vail's Joint Stock Co. operated the business until 1873, when it was pur¬ chased by Gilbert Browning qv. The business confin¬ ued to be known as Vail's Mill unfil it was burnt in 1879. In 1989 a millstone from Vail's was unearthed, near the former site ofthe Mill Bridge over the Water¬ ford River, and it has since been displayed on the Rennie's River walking trail in St. John's, marking the site of Rennie's Mill. See BREAD AND BREAD MANUFACTURE. P.K. Devine (1936), John L. Joy (1977). rhc
VALDMANIS, ALFRED ARTHUR ALEXANDER
(1908-1970). Politician. Civil servant. Born Ziemupe, son of Ansis and Lavize (Saldnieks) Valdmanis. Edu¬ cated Liepaja; University of Latvia. Married Anna Irma Elvira Slessers. A citizen of Russia, Latvia and Canada, Valdmanis also held a German passport. For two decades he not only survived a sequence of fas¬ cist, communist, German-occupafion, Allied military government and western democratic regimes, but also became a key player in each of them. His name is closely connected with some ofthe most controversial issues in Latvia's economic and political fortunes be¬ tween 1934 and 1945, in post-Worid War II Balfic refugee politics and migrations to Canada, and in the unsuccessful drive for industrialization in Newfound¬ land from 1950 to 1954.
Alfred Valdmanis
VALDMANIS, ALFRED ARTHUR ALEXANDER 471
In 1932 Valdmanis graduated in law from the Uni¬ versity of Latvia. Joining the Ministry of Finance, he rose rapidly to become Minister. As Minister (June 1938 to October 1939) Valdmanis followed the fascist government agenda of increased state intervention in the operation of private firms, restricfions ofthe rights of Latvia's ethnic minorities and of foreign owner¬ ship, establishment of state-owned "national" enter¬ prises, mandatory cartelization and centralized supervision of trades and crafts.
Following the Soviet-German occupation of Poland and a Soviet ultimatum of September 1939 demanding a pact of Latvian-Soviet cooperation, Valdmanis re¬ signed from the cabinet. However, in his capacity as Director General ofthe Latvian Electric Trust Corpo¬ ration Kegums (1940) he confinued to parficipate in policy-making unfil the Soviet takeover of Latvia in 1940. Under Latvia's Soviet regime (1940-41) he be¬ came Chief of the Planning Secfion of the Silk and Knitting Trust. In German-occupied Latvia, Valdmanis emerged as a contender for leadership be¬ cause he advocated coUaborafion as the best defense of Latvia's interests. Not surprisingly, he acquired reputations as both a traitor and ardent patriot. He assumed the positions of acting chief public prosecu¬ tor (Sept. 1941 to Nov. 1941) and director general of justice (Nov. 1941 to Apr. 1943). But in April 1943, the Germans had him removed from Latvia. He had refused to sanction the recruitment of Latvian Waffen- SS legions without a German promise of Latvian au¬ tonomy. He was first sent to Berlin and then to western Germany where he remained unfil the end of the War.
In exile his efforts were directed at ensuring the survival of 25,000 Latvians (former Waffen-SS le¬ gionnaires) in West German and Belgian camps by preventing their repatriation to the Soviet Union and arranging for their overseas resettlement. To this end he worked as a refugee consultant with Brifish and American Headquarters (1945-47) and as a senior staff officer with the U.N. refugee organizations UNRRA and IRO. He emigrated to Canada in 1948. WhUe a visiting professor of economics at McGill and Carleton universities, he advised the government on displaced persons, immigration and economic devel¬ opment. He was asked to prepare a plan for the estab¬ lishment of gypsum and cement industries in Nova Scofia. The day his proposal fell through CD. Howe qv recommended him to the Government of New¬ foundland as director of industrial development.
Valdmanis was appointed Director General of Eco¬ nomic Development (1950-53) and chairman of the Newfoundland and Labrador Corporafion (1951-54). Pressured by Premier Smallwood, he rushed negotia¬ tions to launch some 40 industries with the help of Latvian friends, German business connecfions and Newfoundland government funds. By 1954, 16 Euro¬ pean industries had been established. But as early as 1952 Valdmanis realized that the industrializafion drive was headed for failure.
In 1954 his career came to a sensafional end with his arrest, trial and conviction on charges of fraud and